Number of asylum seekers fleeing US to Canada triples

Blue Water Bridge connects Canada to the United States.
Photo credit: Getty

The number of asylum seekers crossing the US border into Canada more than tripled in July, according to Canadian government figures.

More than 3100 people walked across the border in July to file refugee claims, up from 884 in June, figures released on Thursday showed.

Ninety-six percent of them went to Quebec, where an influx of asylum seekers, primarily Haitians, is sparking a backlash from opposition politicians and anti-immigrant groups in the primarily French-speaking province.

Canada is on track this year to have the most refugee claims in a decade, with 7500 of the 21,695 refugee claimants crossing the border illegally, according to the government statistic.